Don't miss the last part of Marika and Anna's encounter with Signora Giuseppina of the Trattoria al Biondo Tevere. You'll hear about a 56 year-old fridge, five weddings in one day, and sheep who do gardening.

Back in the days when people traveled on horseback, Al Biondo Tevere was a convenient rest stop just outside the walls of the city. People would feed and water their horses, and trade what was in their bundles of food with their fellow travelers. Later, it became a proper restaurant and many famous people became regulars, including filmmakers, Pasolini and Bertolucci. Signora Giuseppina shares the story.

"Food is culture." What do we mean by this? Cultural historian, Massimo Montanari, and world-famous chef, Gualtiero Marchesi share their views.

Marika and Anna take us to a famous restaurant on the banks of the Tiber River in Rome. Tune in to discover what's so special about it. (It has to do with movies and movie stars.) And... maybe you can guess what pasta dish Anna is going to order!

Marika and Anna take you to a shop where they make and sell fresh pasta. Have fun!

Il pane (bread) is an important staple at the Italian table, no question about it. There is a great variety of kinds of bread, and in fact, every region has its own. Anna and Marika take you to discover some of their favorites.

"Starvation gastronomy " describes the humble origins of Italian cuisine. Inventing recipes based on whatever was available in the territory resulted in regional dishes that have become famous today.

Andromeda talks about the various types of ice cream and how they are made.

After the war, when eating had to do with survival, tastes started to change and to branch out towards different regions. Now, once again cucina tipica (traditional local cooking) or prodotti tipici (local products) have practically become magic words.

Who doesn't love ice cream? Andromeda gives us her take on the history of gelato (ice cream), from Mount Etna in Sicily to Paris.

Into the fifties, many Italians would stop at trucker restaurants, knowing they'd eat huge portions for little money. With prosperity, Italians began to search for authentic and higher quality foods. One of Marchesi's signature dishes is the open tortello, a deconstructed filled pasta.

Anna and Marika are having lunch in the Trastevere quarter of Rome. Join them as they order traditional Roman pasta dishes and talk about Italian eating habits.

One thing that has made Gualtiero Marchesi become such a great in modern Italian cuisine has been his ability to create new dishes by rearranging, in an innovative way, traditional dishes of every region of Italy, each different in taste and quality.

We learn how and when rice was introduced into Italy. It first appeared in the fourteen hundreds, brought to Lombardy from Spain; and to Sicily from the Arabic world.

The video weaves together Marchesi recounting a story about his first love when he was twelve, and a critic discussing Artusi and Marchesi's debt to popular cuisine.